In the old days, when stories were written on typewriters and the copy set with metal from a Linotype, the end of a story was marked with "- 30 -" or "###." Well, this is it for Photo Edge. It has been my pleasure to share with you my photographs and those of fellow Sun photographers. Along with that, to give an insight into what makes a good photograph great and why picture editing is so important. And all that other stuff.

I will continue my work with The Sun, and I can always be found in some way or another.

As the dolphins say, "So long, and thanks for all the fish."

Chris 

###

Posted by Christopher Assaf at 4:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (25)
                    

It is now official. The Pictures of the Year International competition results are available for perusal. Your humble author has placed in the portrait category with a photograph of author Stephen Dixon after he retired from the John Hopkins University. This is the same contest Jeff Bill, our assistant director of photography, won a third place last year in the Science/Natural History category with a polar bear photograph.

The photograph, one of my personal favorites from 2007, placed third in Portrait. More than 1,800 pictures were entered in that category alone, with six awards given. Of note is second-place winner Platon for a Time cover photograph of Vladimer Putin.

This is the first one of my photographs has placed in this contest since 1995. Even taking a grain of salt with it, as all contests are truly subjective, it makes me truly excited. Unfortunately none of the excellent photographs from fellow Sun staffers placed, but we will see what happens with Best of Photojournalism.

Posted by Christopher Assaf at 11:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

I was sitting around the house on a cold, wet Friday and the old sunflowers on the counter drew my attention.

From the start this is what I considered to be the photograph. But as I made the picture, working to get the white behind the flower correctly framed it just didn't gibe with what I was seeing in my mind.

This worked better and the flower in the background adds a little depth to the image I did not think necessary. The vision I had still did not come to me, with a single flower starkly standing out on a lighter background. Still trying.

Then this came to me, to frame the flower against the blinds, the tungsten balance, set at 3250 Kelvin, made the outdoors more blue than gray. When finished I figured this was the one. Little did I know image number two above would sneak into the front of the pack after editing in Photo Mechanic. 

Posted by Christopher Assaf at 5:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

"Walker Evans"
Photofile series from Thames & Hudson
2007

Most photography books, the ones most likely to make it to the discerning eye's shelf, are large and expensive. Sometimes very large and very expensive. So it is nice to come across a smart book, well-done with excellent reproduction, that is priced right and well-made, such as "Walker Evans."

The Walker Evans and James Agee collaboration "Let Us Now Praise Famous Men" is very well-known, as is Walker's work for the Farm Security Administration and Fortune magazine. His unswerving photographs of Depression-era tenant farmers are stark and unnerving, as are his documents of their living conditions without the dwellers. Each is a portrait of life as stillness.

This book has that and more. A variety of beautiful images, people and things bring forth the past with power and grace: studies of buildings and their interiors, candid portraits taken without the subjects' knowledge, sign details and urbanscapes. Flawless compositions, distractions weeded from the photographic earth, seem to come with ease to Evans and are evident in all the work represented. Evans does not waste space with unnecessary elements or noise, which might divert the eye needlessly from the message.

This handsome book contains a well-coordinated representation of his work up to 1946. After that, five photographs represent the remaining years to his death in 1975. Even with the 29-year gap, the publication is a very good Evans primer. The swell price, listed at $15.95, is more than worth it for the bonanza of information in the introduction by Gilles Mora, an independent French curator and author of "Walker Evans: The Hungry Eye." Detailed and to the point, the introduction is worth double for anyone interested in the minutea of photographers.

Posted by Christopher Assaf at 4:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

Recently staff rusticator Jed Kirschbaum photographed Malcolm Spaulding, a 61-year-old man who has been repairing shoes in Baltimore for decades. The old shop, on West Fayette, is smeared with the shoe polish, its smell combining with that of the leather as memories lace the crevices. Cobblers are not in much demand in the modern age, yet this store hangs on.

My favorite image is a detail Jed made of Malcolm gripping a boot so applied glue can set. Detail photographs, which capture moments that the visually challenged either do not realize exist or fail to notice. They can add life to a series of photographs, serve as a visual segue and contribute a great amount of information without being overly obvious.

The fingers are in control, hands of confidence gripping the black leather, and look as worn and aged as the wood upon which he works. The grip is gentle, a metaphor for the lost time when everyday life often brought people into contact with tradespeople as they went about living lives that involved interaction, a stark contrast to the here-and-now cyberglow of isolation and demands for instant gratification.

Posted by Christopher Assaf at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

'Close Encounters: Irving Penn Portraits of Artists and Writers' at The Morgan Library and Museum in New York is the museum's first foray into modern photography. It happens to highlight one of my favorite photographers.

Acquired in 2007, thirty-five donated by the artist, they cross every decade of Penn's career. The first is from 1944 while the most recent, of Jasper Johns, is from 2006. The exhibit runs until April 13. 

Posted by Christopher Assaf at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

This morning, I cruised the Internet with little in mind. Stumbling through the sportsshooter.com message board I found a powerful, touching story by Stephanie Simon in the Los Angeles Times (also owned by The Sun parent Tribune Co.) about Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep. It is an organization of photographers who donate their time and services to photograph maternity and infant bereavement portraits.

The story is told through Sandy Puc', a Denver-based portrait photographer who started the program. Often the child is dead or will soon die; the images will be solid, tangible remembrance of the life too short.

The story is from November 2007, but the power is lasting. This is a really well-done story, another example of the depth and capacity of photographs -- and newspapers themselves.

Photo by Sandy Puc'/Now I lay Me Down to Sleep

Posted by Christopher Assaf at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

The first Photo Edge Photo Challenge is over, the voted tallied. Winner: Clifford Gwinn (cliff2n) with a beautiful photograph of log, child, water, bridge and sky. A nice composition that has great depth and a variety of visual information to keep the reader interested.

"Chris: This photo was taken with a Nikon D70 and Nikkor 18-200VR @ F8....I was concentrating on the log and the approaching storm clouds (thinking landscape) when this kid zips into the frame. Instinctively I pressed the shutter (VR is beneficial). I didn`t get another shot with him in the frame...he was a fast kid! For me, when the kid entered the frame it just seemed to be complete...luckily, I caught him. I lived in Baltimore for many years and just recently, I started checking your blog...keep up the good work!!" - Cliff

Well done, and thanks to all those who participated.

Posted by Christopher Assaf at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Saturday was a beautiful day for lacrosse despite the wind and the hint of chill in said wind. For the first time in almost a month, a sporting event was on the agenda -- the Face-Off Classic at M&T Bank Stadium. Two games, the first at noon -- Syracuse against Virgina, followed by powerhouse and hometown favorite Johns Hopkins playing Princeton. For those not in the know, the Baltimore area is home for several top-notch lacrosse programs and has a strong following.

At the office before the game I rummaged through the big glass trying to decide what to use. My confidence in the Nikon 400mm f/2.8 lenses was not high, as they are the most used lenses and often get dinged up. So I turned my attention to the Nikon 500mm f/4, with which I have had a lot of luck in the past -- and the added fun of trying to shoot the game with an extraordinarily tight angle of view.    

The opener was a tight fight as underdog Syracuse battled Virgina, leading for much of the game.

(Nikon D2X, Nikon 500mm f/4, 1/5000th @ f/4, ISO 320) 

The back-and-forth continued throughout the game in Syracuse's favor until Virgina, playing aggressive, strong-arm defense, was able to tie the game with little time in regulation. The sudden-death overtime did not last long as Virgina quickly scored and celebrated the grinding victory.   

(Nikon D2X, Nikon 500mm f/4, 1/5000th @ f/4, ISO 250)

The Hopkins game was not nearly as exciting.

(Nikon D2X, Nikon 500mm f/4, 1/2000th @ f/5, ISO 200)

For a change of pace I headed to the top level of the stadium to photograph from an elevated angle and give a different look from the first game. It did not take long for Kevin Huntley (above) to score one of his four goals as Hopkins dominated the first half. I stayed up top for most of the first quarter and then descended to field level for the remaining time in the game.

(Nikon D2X, Nikon 500mm f/4, 1/1000th @ f/5, ISO 400)

Two problems arose during the day: the inability to position myself on the backlit side (for some reason lacrosse is very controlling of the sidelines, particularly the team side) and the sun going behind the stands in the second half of the Hopkins game. The combination of the two made the light almost unworkable in some positions. Hopkins goalie Michael Gvozden is in shadow while the empty seats in the background are broadlit by the sun. Not ideal in any situation, but I tried my best to make it work.

(Nikon D2X, Nikon 500mm f/4, 1/640th @ f/4, ISO 400)

This did present some really nice light, briefly, at one end as Hopkins was on the defensive. Some light slipped through the gaps and made the players sing as they stood out against the darkened background. This is why I love shooting subjects when they are rockingly backlit. Getting used to shooting this way takes some time, and shutter speeds have to fall to make up for the light falloff, but the results are well worth it. 

Posted by Christopher Assaf at 10:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)